Thursday, October 16, 2014

Some African Countries Bump Up Their GDP

I think you have to take this with a grain of salt, but some African countries are improving and revising their GDP numbers, and coming up with results that suggest their economies are a lot bigger than we thought.

Some of this is no doubt political.

But, do keep in mind that GDP is notoriously badly measured in poor countries. So there’s also a big “it’s about time” attitude that we should have towards better numbers.

And also, it’s a very good sign of improved economic activity that the governments of these countries can find the money to even consider doing this. Even if they’re fibbing about some of the numbers, it’s a costly undertaking that they wouldn’t do lightly.